The present invention is related to aircraft brakes, and in particular to a system and method for determining a turn-around threshold for aircraft.
Regulations require aircraft brakes to be able to handle an aborted takeoff at any moment prior to the plane leaving the runway. The brakes for an aircraft have a heat sink mass and a temperature. The lesser the heat sink mass, the greater the brake temperature generated during braking. When the brake is at the end of its life, the heat sink mass will be at a minimum. Thus, this generates the greatest brake temperatures during braking. If the brakes reach a great enough temperature, they can fail. Thus, the brakes must be below a threshold temperature that ensures the brakes will not overheat during an aborted takeoff.
In the past, the threshold temperature has been determined based upon a worst case scenario. It is assumed that each brake is at the end of its lifecycle with minimal heat sink mass. Based upon this assumption, the threshold temperature is calculated and the aircraft cannot pull away from the gate until the temperature of the brakes are below that threshold. This can create unnecessary delays in the turnaround time of the aircraft. It is desirable to adapt the turnaround time so that delays in leaving the gate can be optimized based upon actual requirements as opposed to worst case scenarios.